


Return 1

by ZaccRiseC3P



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-16 22:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14820174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaccRiseC3P/pseuds/ZaccRiseC3P
Summary: Set after the final episode of the show, Reese resurfaces after surviving the events on the rooftop.  Shaw finds out he's still alive and tries to convince him to join her in saving the numbers again.  Will she be able to convince him to stay?





	Return 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tipsylex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tipsylex/gifts).



# Shaw

8:30pm. Charles Boreman’s business partner would be walking through the door any minute. Sameen Shaw sat at a bar in midtown waiting to wrap up her third number of the week. It was a slight step down from saving the world from the ASI apocalypse, but saving one number at a time was what Finch hired her to do in the first place. Returning to the roots of their mission had given her some perspective on her position. She didn’t mind working alone, she was more comfortable that way anyway. However, the circumstances that led to her lone crusade were less than desirable. After all, she was only here because the only family she ever really knew fell apart in the most spectacular fashion. She already lost Root, now John was gone too, and Finch was halfway across the world. There was no saving Root, Shaw knew that she was gone as soon as the bullet went through her, but Shaw spent as least two months searching for Reese after Samaritan was destroyed. The Machine tried everything it could to track him down, but it could never confirm if he was dead or alive. Eventually, Shaw realized that if she kept looking it would destroy her. She had to let it go. But she wasn’t just going to roll over. Her job was to save people - and she was pretty damn good at it - so that’s what she was going to do. With help from The Machine, Shaw started helping the irrelevant numbers all over again. Going back to square one. The missions had become significantly easier with an open system. She could ask any question, get any answer. Simple. As soon as a number came up all Shaw had to do was ask The Machine, “So how do I save this one?” The instructions would then be relayed to her in Root’s recreated voice. Although sometimes, The Machine wouldn’t be able to see the whole picture. Shaw secretly preferred those numbers. Sure, the open system saved her a lot of headaches since she was mostly on her own now, but she would never pass up an opportunity to do some good old fashioned recon.

Nevertheless, her current assignment didn’t require much research. The Machine had been able to pinpoint the threat almost immediately. Charles Boreman was an impressive programmer who was about to make a business deal that would hopefully launch his company. However, his business partner, Chad Colile, had a plan of his own. He was on his way to the bar with a firearm tucked into his belt. The Machine could only make the logical assumption that Colile planned to kill his partner and finish their current four million dollar deal all by himself. 

To stop this plot before it ended in disaster, The Machine informed Shaw of the situation so now, here they are- waiting in a sketchy bar in midtown for a man hell bent on committing murder. Shaw was already on her third beer by the time Colile walked through the door. She begrudgingly put her third round down when she saw him come in. Noticing the small pistol concealed under the man’s coat, Shaw stepped in his way and introduced herself.

“Hello, Mr. Colile. Name’s Detective Riley,” Shaw lied while presenting the badge that bore the fake name. “I noticed you have a concealed weapon on your person. Mind telling me what you plan to do with that?”

The man stuttered. Shaw wasn’t sure if he was shocked that he got caught or confused as to how this so-called “detective” seemed to know exactly what he was about to do.

“I- I wasn’t going to-” Colile started.

“Don’t even try to lie to me. I know you only agreed to this meeting to allow yourself an opportunity to kill your partner over there. Not a very well-thought out plan, but it still would have ended with your friend dead and that’s just a casualty I’m not willing to take so why don’t you just give me your firearm and we can forget this ever happened.”

“What happens if I say no?” Colile gambled.

“Then I’ll have you arrested for attempted murder and you’ll be locked up for the better part of the next two decades,” Shaw informed him.

For a second, the man’s features softened, and Shaw thought that her thinly veiled threat might have worked. Not that she wouldn’t have the man arrested, she just wouldn’t be the arresting officer. But Colile didn’t know that. So, rather than give in to the small yet intimidating “detective” in front of him, the seasoned businessman quickly decided against compliance and went to draw his weapon. Unfortunately for him, Shaw was stronger, quicker, and more coordinated. She smacked the gun out of his grasp by striking his wrist with the palm of her hand. The weapon scattered across the floor and the second of shock gave Shaw a clear window to strike again. This time, she grabbed him by the shoulders and rammed the man’s head into her knee. He crumbled on impact and fell to the bar floor with a thud.

A little excessive, maybe. But the unconscious state of the perpetrator gave her plenty of time to call Fusco and tell him she had a present for him.

“Wrapped up the perp for you, Lionel. You can come and arrest him now,” Shaw told him when he answered the phone.

“I already sent first responders to your location. They should be there any minute,” Lionel informed her. “You know, you really oughtta be more careful out there.”

“Relax, Lionel. I’ve got Detective Riley to back me up. I’ll be fine,” Shaw smirked.

“Yeah, and that’s another thing. I don’t appreciate you using my dead partner’s badge, even if he was a pain in the ass. In the eyes of the law, he was still a cop,” Lionel insisted.

She would never admit it to Fusco, but the reason Shaw kept using John’s old badge was to keep his memory alive. He had done a lot of good- as well as shoot a lot of kneecaps- and she felt someone should use his name to keep that legacy going, even if it wasn’t his own.

“Don’t worry, Lionel. I’m sure if I got caught you would think of something. You were always a pretty decent liar,” Shaw suggested.

“Not this time. If you get caught, I’ll throw your ass in jail.”

“Is that a promise?”

Shaw heard Fusco scoff on the other end of the line just as his first responders parked in front of the bar.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Shaw smiled. “Thanks for the assist, Lionel.”

With her work done, Shaw hung up on Fusco, placed fifteen dollars on the bar to pay for her three beers, turned to the bartender, and said, “Keep the change.”

The bartender nodded in appreciation as Shaw walked out of the bar into the streets of New York. She started heading south towards the old subway station the team used as home base until Samaritan discovered their operations a little over six months ago. With Samaritan out of the picture, Shaw had grown accustomed to living there. It was a little empty without everyone there all the time, but it was still home.

As she was strolling through town in no particular hurry, there was a buzzing in her ear and she heard the voice of a ghost come through her earpiece.

“I’m glad you were able to neutralize that threat so quickly,” The Machine said in Root’s artificial voice. Hearing the voice of a dead friend giving her instructions took some getting used to for Shaw, but over time it became more comforting than unsettling.

“That guy was no real threat,” Shaw sighed. “His greed got the best of him.”

“Well this next assignment might not be so simple,” The Machine admitted.

“What do you mean?” Shaw hesitated.

“I just received some information that I think you would be very interested in,” The Machine told her vaguely. She didn’t elaborate, so Shaw urged her on.

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

There was a slight pause before The Machine finally answered, “The big lug is still alive…”

This sent a whirlwind of thoughts rushing through Shaw’s head. Her first assumption was that something was wrong with The Machine. It was either messing with her or there was a glitch in its code. Those were the only logical explanations, right? John has been missing and presumed dead for six months, now all the sudden he just resurfaces? But he has been dead before. Nothing keeps him down for long. Could it really be true?

Shaw stopped dead in her tracks before answering, “What did you just say?”

“Reese is still alive, Shaw,” The Machine repeated. “He’s in the subway.”

“Wait he’s… How come you didn’t tell me this sooner?”

“Tell you what? He just got here.”

“That John was alive!”

“Because believe it or not it is still possible to hide from me. Maybe he thought it wouldn’t be safe to resurface until now.”

“If he tries to leave keep him there somehow, I’m on my way I’ll be there in five,” Shaw instructed, then her leisurely stroll broke into a sprint. 

 

# Reese

Nothing had changed. Reese hadn’t been in the subway since he said goodbye to everyone six months ago. He thought that day was going to be goodbye for good, even if he wasn’t totally sure how their fight against Samaritan was going to end. But here he was, wandering around their old HQ and wondering where everyone else had gone.

As soon as he opened the gate to the underground base, Reese was greeted by an extremely enthusiastic malinois shepard. Bear was very happy to see the man that rescued him from being used as a murder weapon five years prior. Even though he was glad to see his pet safe and sound, it did worry John that Bear was left in the subway all by himself. He expected the place to be abandoned, but Shaw wouldn’t have left their attack dog here unsupervised for an extended period of time. Was she still using the subway for some reason?

He had been gone for six months, but he had to assume that the end of Samaritan would be the end of the team. What more could they do? The Machine was gone, there were no more numbers to protect. Right? He didn’t know what to think anymore. As far as the team knew, he had died on that rooftop six months ago. They didn’t know that, not only did he have a bulletproof vest on while he was up there, but he was also able to escape the missile that was sent from the satellite after he deployed The Machine. That didn’t mean he escaped without a scratch, though. After he evaded the missile he was left with nothing. No one knew he was alive, no one knew he needed help, no one was coming to save him. So, he tracked down an old friend who owed them a favor: Megan Tillman. They had kept in touch since John prevented her from committing murder six years ago. It never hurt to have a doctor on retainer. She patched up his major wounds in no time and told him that if he ever needed help she was just a phone call away.

After he recovered, he wasn’t sure where to go. Had their plan worked? Was Samaritan actually gone? John had no way of knowing the answer and his paranoia got the best of him. Even though he was pretty confident that both systems had been destroyed, he didn’t dare risk it. So, he stayed in the areas of New York that he knew were blackout zones for surveillance. The team had spent the last two years working almost completely off the grid so it wasn’t hard for Reese to remember the places where no one was watching.

There was a point when Reese considered going back to the team. He thought maybe he could track Finch down and get the old band back together. But a voice in his head convinced him it would just cause more pain. They already thought he was dead, what was the point of resurfacing now? Not to mention the fact that The Machine was probably gone. Without the system supplying them with numbers their job was done. There was no way to know who would be in danger, no more people to save. When he came to this realization, Reese decided to stay in the shadows and keep his head down- until now.

He had no initial intention of coming back to the subway. His life here was over as far as he was concerned. However, he couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye, he just had to see it one last time. Nonetheless, he didn’t expect anyone to still be there. Seeing Bear was both a comfort and a curse. He didn’t want Shaw or anyone else to know he had shown up, so he would take a quick look around and leave everything just as he found it.

As John walked around the familiar underground hideout, Bear was glued to his side. He tried throwing a toy across the platform to gain some space, but Bear stayed still, simply looking up as if to say “I’m not leaving you this time.” John couldn’t help but smile as he continued his stroll down memory lane.

Eventually, he wandered into the train car that housed The Machine for what felt like an eternity but had only been about a year. He couldn’t help but think about all of the upgrades Finch had made throughout that long year. The wireless remote that controlled the door was still sitting on Finch’s desk. Reese tried, but he couldn’t resist picking it up and using it to open and close the door. As the door closed the second time, a voice boomed over the on-board speakers.

“Hey there, big lug,” the voice said.

Caught off guard, Reese fumbled with the remote before catching it and putting it back where he found it. John recognized the unmistakable voice right away.

“Root? Is that you?” He wondered in disbelief.

“No, John. It's just me,” The Machine answered.

As she responded, the automatic subway car doors opened and the monitor right in front of the door now read, “Hello, Primary Asset.”

“You… you took her voice?”

“I felt it was an appropriate way to honor her memory.”

John wasn’t usually the type to wallow in self-pity. There was no need for it. But hearing The Machine talking about honoring someone’s memory made him wonder if anyone had cared enough to remember him. Did the team have a funeral? Did they even mourn? He wanted to assume the answer was yes, but something ate at him, like maybe he was just kidding himself.  
Instead of voicing any of these thoughts, Reese simply responded.“I thought you weren't supposed to make it back after you defeated Samaritan.”

“And I thought you were going to die in a rooftop explosion after you sent my core code into a satellite,” The Machine shot back. “I guess we both missed a memo.”

Reese laughed without humor, “So who’s still using this place?”

“Just Shaw and Bear here.” Bear’s ears perked up at the sound of his name. “And speak of the devil, Shaw should be here right about… now”

Right on cue, Reese heard the gate screech open and saw Shaw emerged from the dark corridor.

“Reese, I can’t believe you’re actually here,” she greeted.

“You and me both,” Reese smiled.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Reese went silent, not really wanting to tell Shaw the truth- that he thought they could function better without him- instead, he simply responded, “Just being careful.”

“If you were being so careful why did you come here?” Shaw wondered.

“I just had to see the subway one last time.”

“One last time?” Shaw repeated. Her voice fluctuated with concern. “You mean you’re not sticking around?”

“No, I can’t,” Reese answered. “I’m supposed to be dead, remember?”

“You were dead when Finch hired you, Reese. That never stopped you before.”

“It’s different this time.”

“Different how? The numbers are still coming, people are still in danger. We still have to protect them. I thought you would want us to keep working the numbers.”

“I’ve lost too much to this mission. First Carter, now Root. There’s nothing left for me here.”

“What are you going to do instead, then? Get a day job? Go back to playing detective?”

“I’ll think of something. Besides, I see you’ve taken up the role of detective yourself.”

Shaw’s expression turned to confusion. She wasn’t sure what he was referring to until Reese pointed to the badge on her belt.

“Oh this, it’s nothing, it’s-”

“-Stolen? What, did you borrow Lionel’s badge without permission again?”

“It’s- it’s not Fusco’s,” Shaw choked.

Reese could have sworn he saw Shaw bluffing, if that was even possible. The ex-government op only sighed and Reese figured out why she wouldn’t tell him where she got it- it was his, more specifically, it was Detective Riley’s.

Shaw wasn’t exactly known as the sentimental type, but John could tell that she kept it because she missed her big brother - he made a mental note to tease her about it later.

Looking for a way to divert the conversation, Shaw added, “Fusco isn’t very happy that I’m using Detective Riley’s badge, either. He’s become quite the rule follower since getting his promotion.”

Reese raised an eyebrow, “Fusco got promoted?”

“Sure did. He’s now ‘Captain Fusco,’” Shaw stated in a mocking tone.

“Captain of the 8th?” Reese asked.

Shaw nodded “yes.”

“Huh.”

If Reese was being honest with himself, he didn’t think Fusco had it in him. He couldn’t quite comprehend that the dirty cop who was once going to send him on a one way trip to Oyster Bay was now the rule-following captain of the 8th. 

There was only one teammate unaccounted for now. Reese went on, “If Fusco is still working at the 8th and you and The Machine are still working the numbers, where’s Finch?”

“He’s in Italy,” Shaw answered flatly.

Reese thought for a second, wondering why Finch would take a trip to Italy. His only hint was Shaw giving him a, “Come on, you know this” look. Then he realized who else was in Italy: Grace. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth at the thought.

“I appreciate the update, but I should get out of here,” Reese finally said.

Reese started walking passed Shaw toward the gate when her voice stopped him.

“And where are you gonna go?” She questioned. “People with our skills don’t have that many options, Reese.”

She was right. Reese knew she was right. He started to turn around to tell her that he would think of something later, but he was interrupted by the sound of a payphone. The phone in the wall was ringing, and John didn’t want to know who was on the other end of the call.

“It’s for you, John,” Root’s artificial voice announced.

The Mayhem Twins traded suspicious glances before Reese cautiously walked over to the wall to answer it.

All Reese heard from the receiver was a list of names being relayed in The Machine’s old broken voice, the one it used before it took Root’s.

_Theresa Whitaker._  
_Walter Dang._  
_Joey Durban._  
_Logan Pierce._  
_Louis Mitchell._  
_Tim Sloane._  
_Darren McGrady._  
_Leila Smith._

Right away, Reese recognized every name that was being said. A lump formed in his throat at the sound of the last name. He remembered when they saved the little six month old clear as day. Finch kidnapped her in a panic that set them on an interesting path, but they managed to safely deliver her to her grandparents. There was nothing Reese wouldn’t have done for that kid. With the memory of Leila lingering in his mind, Reese hung up the phone.

“There’s a lot more where those came from, John,” The Machine added. “We just received another number. And they need your help.”

Shaw didn’t hear what The Machine had said on the phone, but she was pretty sure she had an accurate idea. She stared at Reese expectantly.

“Ok,” he sighed. “Let’s get back to work.”

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't gone back to check this, but while I was editing I realized that I may or may not have made a continuity error in the subway. If I recall, in Return 0 the subway car is used and removed from the subway and if this is the case I apologize for the inconsistency because I mention the car in the story. And if you didn't realize this and you were only made aware because I brought it up now then please ignore this XD Other than that, I hope you enjoyed the story! Have a great day :)


End file.
